Key Points
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Considers the value of education of the whole dental team as a group of young professionals in training.
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Reports that UK dental schools are very cognisant of the value of training in a primary care practice environment.
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Highlights the aspirations of final year dental students and that they are looking forward to the challenges of general practice in the NHS.
Abstract
Objective To investigate the responses of the dental student body in the first three years of outreach education (2010–13) at the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy in the areas of integrated team work and use of a current NHS contact.
Methods Use of a questionnaire to allow both quantitative and qualitative data to be obtained, administered to the three cohorts of students at the end of their longitudinal attendance at the Academy in their final year of education at King's College London Dental Institute.
Results Data were obtained from 227 students which represented a 95% return rate. Sixty-four percent of students strongly agreed with both statements: 'I am confident with working with a dental nurse' and 'I now understand properly the scope of practice of dental hygiene-therapists'. Sixty-seven percent strongly agreed with the statement 'I have had useful experience of working in NHS primary care during the final year'. Eighty percent either strongly agreed or agreed with the statement 'My experience of real Units of Dental Activity and Key Performance Indicators has encouraged me to positively consider NHS high street dentistry as a career option'.
Conclusions Within the limitations of this study the dental students reported having gained useful experience of working in integrated team care dentistry. They expressed strong support for the education that is being delivered in an outreach environment and, most importantly, the student body was looking forward to entering general dental practice in the UK.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the help of Gemma Potts in helping to prepare the questionnaire and collating the results. We also acknowledge the clinical tutors of the Academy for their contribution in the delivery of integrated dental education to the students.
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Radford, D., Holmes, S., Woolford, M. et al. The impact of integrated team care taught using a live NHS contract on the educational experience of final year dental students. Br Dent J 217, 581–585 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2014.1002
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2014.1002
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